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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Lord Fourth
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…The third Monday of February, when the chill of winter had yet to fade. Eternity’s new semester had finally begun.
“A school uniform… It’s been a really long time since I’ve worn one of these.”
I touched the white uniform jacket I’d been given, intrigued. It made sense; in reality, I was 24 years old.
Two years since I was discharged from the military, and it had already been five years since I graduated high school. But to be back in high school again…
With a feeling that was both unfamiliar and exciting, I left the dormitory and headed for the classroom.
“I’m getting nervous for no reason.”
Standing in front of the classroom door with the nameplate [1-1], I took a deep breath and opened it.
*Screech.*
With the sound of the door opening, the eyes of those already inside turned towards me.
It wasn’t just my imagination that their gazes held more interest than necessary.
─It’s the top student.
─It’s Lee Haesol.
The classroom was buzzing with whispers.
Then again, it was the appearance of the top student of the year who had beaten all the world’s promising talents, so it would have been stranger if it were quiet.
The only catch, if you could call it that, was that the top student of the year was a complete fraud.
I glanced around the classroom, looking for an empty seat.
Naturally, the prime spots were all taken by those who had arrived first. But thankfully, the second seat by the window was empty. Without a second thought, I quickly went and sat down.
“*Haaahm~*”
The time was 7:50 AM. As I yawned from the overwhelming sleepiness, something was suddenly held out in front of me. Held in a delicate hand was a packet of Lemona.
“You look tired. Here, take this.”
“Thanks.”
As I took the Lemona, the girl in the next seat smiled brightly.
“I’m Han Se-yeon.”
“Lee Haesol.”
As I emptied the Lemona into my mouth, I recalled what I knew about Han Se-yeon.
Han Se-yeon. A girl who was chosen as the class president every year due to her excellent grades, friendly and gentle personality.
She was even exceptionally beautiful, making her the so-called ‘perfect daughter’ type everyone is compared to.
Already, the male students in the classroom were stealing glances at Han Se-yeon, pretending not to.
And as the saying goes, where the needle goes, the thread follows, Eun Gaye was sprawled out asleep in the seat next to Han Se-yeon.
They seemed like an unlikely pair, but they were childhood friends.
For reference, our class was a special class that had gathered all the aces of the year, including Cheon Woojin, Eun Gaye, Han Se-yeon, Nikolai, and Amelia.
I wondered what kind of class assignment system could create such a ridiculously broken balance, but since the game’s story itself was a trainwreck, I wasn’t particularly surprised.
“Quite relaxed for the first day.”
As I was savoring the Lemona, I looked up at the voice and saw a blonde Westerner standing in front of me. It was Nikolai.
I glanced at the ‘Lemona’ he was glaring at and then at Han Se-yeon, and grasping the situation, I smirked.
“What, you jealous?”
“…What?”
Nikolai frowned as if asking what I was talking about. Even so, it was written all over his face that he was jealous, you punk.
Nikolai, who had attended middle school with Han Se-yeon, had a crush on her.
He looked like a total playboy, but surprisingly, he was a devoted guy who only had eyes for one woman.
But not only had his top spot been stolen by some nobody who had rolled in from who knows where, but that nobody was now receiving Lemona from Han Se-yeon and chatting warmly with her, so of course, he’d be jealous.
Of course, Nikolai wasn’t so petty as to show it on the outside.
His purpose in talking to me was probably to declare his bold ambition to take the top spot, or something like that.
“I’m Nikolai.”
“Lee Haesol.”
He held out his hand, and I was about to shake it when Nikolai suddenly pulled his hand back.
…What? What’s his deal?
As I stared at his retracted hand in disbelief, I soon realized the reason.
‘Ah, right. This guy was a neat freak.’
Nikolai was a weirdo obsessed with ‘cleanliness’ and ‘angles’, to the point where he would be late for school because he was re-folding the bathroom towels because he didn’t like their angles.
Come to think of it, even his uniform jacket was perfectly creased.
A laugh escaped me as I imagined Nikolai spending his whole morning just getting the angles right.
Just then, Nikolai came at me without warning.
“Let me tell you this, don’t get cocky just because your entrance exam scores were good. I’m just letting you borrow it for a while.”
“……”
Nikolai smiled with satisfaction, as if he felt his ‘Korean-style line’ had landed.
In truth, I was a little overwhelmed. Was this the fighting spirit of a 17-year-old from Russia?
‘I’m gonna piss my pants.’
As if he had said all he needed to say, Nikolai turned to leave, but then reluctantly accepted the Lemona Han Se-yeon offered with a smile, and then confidently walked to the front seat by the podium and sat down.
His actions seemed like a terminal case of middle school syndrome, but Nikolai was a model student who was also good at written exams.
Finding the mismatch funny, Han Se-yeon giggled.
“Nikolai has trouble expressing himself, so don’t take it to heart.”
“Trouble expressing himself? He just openly declared war.”
Eun Gaye, who had been lying down, muttered in disbelief.
I completely agreed, but I didn’t really care. After all, I was a ‘fake top student’ who had gotten the position by a fluke.
Even if Nikolai didn’t try to keep me in check, my grades would plummet on their own if left alone, so my fate was to worry about getting expelled.
‘The real top student is that guy over there.’
I subtly turned my head to look at Cheon Woojin. He was already laughing and chatting with the other cadets.
To create such an atmosphere when they’ve only just met. His social skills were top-notch.
Influenced by that positive energy, even the awkward cadets began to open up a little.
Just as the classroom was gradually becoming noisy, the front door opened, and a man with a cold impression entered. At his appearance, the cadets swallowed dryly.
A scar, like a crawling worm, was etched from his right forehead down to his cheek. He had a frightening appearance that would make you believe he was a mercenary.
“Nice to meet you. I am Ha Jin-woo, and I will be the homeroom teacher for Class 1 for the next year.”
After a brief introduction, the mercenary-teacher, Ha Jin-woo, looked around the room.
“You all look excited. I suppose you must feel like you’re flying, having broken through the global competition to enroll in our school.”
As the cadets puffed out their chests with pride, Ha Jin-woo smirked.
“But it would be best to get rid of that feeling quickly. Eternity is not some lenient place where everything ends once you’re admitted. This is just the beginning.”
His calm yet cold words continued.
“What superhumans must face are demonkin and demonic beasts. One mistake, and you die. Even if you’re lucky enough to survive, you’ll have to live with the after-effects for the rest of your life.”
When Ha Jin-woo pointed to the scar on his cheek, the cadets’ expressions turned serious.
“Eternity is a place that teaches you how to fight those kinds of things. Therefore, the training will be conducted just like a real battle. Anyone with poor grades or a complacent attitude will be immediately expelled. It might be wiser to leave early, as being expelled at least lets you keep your life, which is better than dying in a real battle.”
After crushing the cadets’ spirits with a flat tone as if reading the breakfast menu, Ha Jin-woo smiled and said.
“That’s enough of the scare tactics. Today, I will find out your levels. Everyone, assemble at the simulation chamber. It’s a ‘Demonic Beast Hunt’.”
***
10 minutes later, the cadets had moved to the ‘simulation chamber’ behind the main building.
The ‘simulation chamber’ existed beyond the glass wall of a waiting room lined with seats.
The cadets sat in groups with those they had befriended. I just sat in a corner, and suddenly, the seat next to me was dazzlingly bright.
I turned my gaze to see Amelia smiling gently and bowing her head slightly.
“We’re in the same class. I look forward to working with you.”
“Uh, me too. Nice to meet you.”
As we were exchanging greetings, Ha Jin-woo appeared.
“As I said, today I will be assessing your levels. In the simulation chamber, you will be given a virtual demonic beast and a situation. You just have to show off your ability to handle it as best you can. It won’t be graded, but don’t think you can just slack off. There will be a reward for the cadet who handles it the best.”
After a brief explanation, Ha Jin-woo pointed to the door of the simulation chamber.
“Alright, then, one by one from the front left, enter the simulation chamber. The rest of you will watch your classmates’ performance.”
As the first cadet entered the simulation chamber, a forest clearing materialized, and a ‘pack of wolves’ appeared.
They were Grade 2 wolf-type demonic beasts, ‘Direwolves’, which are low-grade but tricky to hunt because they move in packs.
For reference, the grade of demonic beasts starts from the lowest, Grade 1, and gets stronger as the number increases.
“…Wow, look at the detail. There are even hostages.”
“I know, right? This is crazy. They must have spent a fortune.”
The cadets exclaimed in admiration upon seeing a girl and a man who appeared to be her father behind the wolf pack.
‘Hostages, huh? We’ll see.’
I smirked at the so-called hostages, but said nothing and simply watched the cadets’ performance.
The first cadet managed to defeat the wolves with difficulty and rescue the hostages. The other cadets’ performances weren’t much different.
Considering that Direwolves are difficult for people of this age to handle, their performance was worthy of Eternity cadets, but it was also true that it was a little disappointing.
The streak of boredom was broken when Amelia, from the seat next to me, stood up.
“Do well. Fighting.”
Amelia responded to my encouragement with a smile and walked into the simulation chamber with a click-clack of her heels.
As before, the wolves appeared and blocked her path, and Amelia raised her arm. Then, a visible blue mana rose and wrapped around the wolves.
And at the result, gasps of admiration erupted from the cadets.
“Oh, that’s insane.”
“How precisely is she controlling her mana?”
“As expected of the Constellation of Stars.”
Amelia didn’t kill a single wolf.
Yet the wolves only growled and couldn’t charge at her.
This was because grass, vines, and branches had grown and bound the wolves’ feet.
Amelia leisurely passed the wolf pack, rescued the hostages, and bowed with a smile.
It goes without saying that cheers erupted from the cadets. Even to me, who was ignorant of magic, Amelia’s magic, which manipulated nature, was truly spectacular.
The other cadets had struggled to summon even a single fireball, so the difference in level was obvious.
Still, it was a bit of a shame that the top spot was still out of her reach.
At any other time, she would have easily taken the top spot, but this year was teeming with monsters on par with Amelia.
Like Nikolai, who was up next.
“Wow, he’s just tearing them apart.”
“Direwolves can be torn apart?”
As soon as Nikolai entered the simulation chamber, he instantly slaughtered the wolves.
The weapon he used was a ‘Bardiche’, a traditional Russian weapon with a crescent-shaped blade at the end of a long handle.
Not only the wolves but also the terrain was obliterated by the rush of the crescent blade, filled with powerful mana.
The waiting room fell silent for a moment in the face of that overwhelming power.
After finishing off the wolves, Nikolai spun his Bardiche and struck a pose worthy of his middle school syndrome, but this time, even I couldn’t find fault with it.
“…He’s definitely incredible.”
I really hated to admit it, but it was quite cool.
After that, other cadets’ stages continued, but the impression left by the first two was so strong that nothing else even registered.
“*Haaahm~*”
As I yawned from boredom, Amelia chuckled and spoke to me.
“You seem bored. I suppose it’s not up to the standards of the top student.”
“No, it’s not that…”
I don’t know what kind of grand misunderstanding she had, but regardless of standards, I wasn’t even confident I could beat a pack of Direwolves.
I was just thinking I’d be lucky to take down one or two.
Well, it’s not that I couldn’t win in a fight, but I thought I might have a method.
“Lee Haesol, it’s your turn. Enter the simulation chamber.”
“Yes.”
Called upon, I rose from my seat and entered the simulation chamber.
***
‘This year’s freshmen are certainly on a high level.’
Ha Jin-woo’s eyes gleamed as he watched the cadets go in and out of the simulation chamber.
There were occasional cadets who struggled, perhaps because it was their first time facing a Direwolf, but for the most part, they were handling it quite well.
Every year, there were about four or five cadets who failed the first practical exercise, but this year, everyone was passing.
In particular, a few of the cadets possessed skills that even Ha Jin-woo found noteworthy.
‘Nikolai, his axemanship is rough but outstanding. Gorgov raised his son well.’
Amelia’s ability to handle mana was also exceptional.
With just these two, this year could be considered a great success, but there were still more talents who hadn’t come out yet.
The one who had just entered the simulation chamber was one such talent.
‘Lee Haesol.’
Ha Jin-woo’s eyes gleamed as he watched Lee Haesol leisurely enter the simulation chamber.
He too had seen the video of his practical exam that had spread on the internet.
A monster who had passed the practical exam while hiding his true abilities.
But this time, even he would have no choice but to reveal his skills.
Direwolves were not such easy demonic beasts that they could be defeated with some clumsy acting.
As if to show something this time, Lee Haesol picked up some pebbles and gravel from the ground.
‘Is he going to throw them? Not bad.’
Even a simple pebble becomes a deadly weapon when imbued with mana.
It was a basic application of mana, but since the result varied greatly depending on the thrower’s level, it was the surest way to gauge their skill.
Lee Haesol’s throwing stance was incredibly stable.
‘Good.’
He knew exactly how to maximize the power of the pebble.
As expected, the pebble Lee Haesol threw shot towards the wolves like a beam of light, leaving an afterimage.
*As expected of the top student.*
Ha Jin-woo inwardly nodded. It was the next moment that his expectation was proven wrong.
*Whoooosh!*
The pebble flew past the wolves and continued onward. And what lay beyond it was…
*THWACK!*
Ha Jin-woo’s eyes widened in shock.
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Hi Lord Fourth here!
As always if you find some mistakes or inconsistencies let me know about it on the dedicated channel on discord.
